KARL Hudson-Phillips QC urged that Israel and the Palestinian people both find “their place under the heavens” in the report of the United Nations’ (UN) Fact-Finding Mission into last May’s Gaza Flotilla Raid in which Israeli soldiers killed nine protesters.
The report was scathing of the conduct of Israeli soldiers.
“The circumstances of the killing of at least six of the passengers were in a manner consistent with an extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execution.”
The Mission, chaired by Hudson-Phillips, paints a picture of an Israeli military that was out of control during the boarding of the flotilla, and during the later deportation of protesters, some of whom were badly beaten by groups of soldiers while detained at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv.
The report, which Hudson-Phillips delivered on Monday at the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland, listed an exchange of letters between Hudson-Phillips and Israel’s UN representative, Aaron Leshno Yaar. Hudson-Phillips asked for permission to travel to Israel and Gaza to meet witnesses, but Yaar said the Mission’s probe was “unnecessary and unproductive”, given the Yaakov Turkel probe by the Israeli government, and the other by UN head Ban Ki- moon.
Hudson-Phillips’ report lamented a “deplorable situation” in Gaza that is “totally intolerable and unacceptable”.
“Abject poverty among refugees has tripled since the (2007) imposition of the blockade from 100,000 to 300,000 and 61 percent of households are food insecure,” said the report. “On a daily basis, 80 million litres of untreated and partially treated sewage is discharged into the environment. ...As a result of sewage infiltrating into the aquifer only between five and ten percent of the extracted water is safe.”
Advocating “justice and fair play” over “old antagonisms”, the report said, “One has to find the strength to pluck rooted sorrows from the memory and to move on.”
Regarding the flotilla raid, the report also warned, “Similar disasters are likely to reoccur unless there is a dramatic shift in the existing paradigm. Peace and respect have to be earned, not bludgeoned out of an opponent.”
The report was damning of the raid, saying that on one ship boarded, “lethal force was employed by the Israeli soldiers in a widespread and arbitrary manner which caused an unnecessarily large number of persons to be killed or seriously injured.”
Live bullets, plastic bullets, stun grenades, tear gas, paint-balls, and electro-shocks were used.
The leader of the protesters had waved a white shirt to surrender but to no avail.
Even passengers who were not resisting the soldiers were wounded and killed.
“Israeli soldiers continued shooting at passengers who had already been wounded, with live ammunition, soft baton charges (beanbags) and plastic bullets.”
Protesters were restricted with plastic-handcuffs so tightly that some still suffer damaged nerves three months later. Some were made to kneel on deck for hours, being kicked and bunched by Israeli soldiers and hit with rifle butts. Rude sexual remarks were made about female protesters. Detainees were denied access to the toilet and some females were strip searched in sight of male soldiers.
A doctor awaiting deportation at the airport was badly abused by soldiers.
“He was subject to verbal insults as he passed through a checkpoint. An officer slapped him on the back of the head and when he protested he was set upon by a group of uniformed officers, knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched and kicked. He was then dragged out of sight...Attempts were made to break his fingers. He was restrained by metal handcuffs behind his back so tightly that he lost feeling to one hand. He was then hoisted up by the handcuffs...”.
Although not offered as a justification , the report notes some factors mitigating the Israeli action. It alluded that Israel had clear and known restrictions on access to Gaza, which has no deep sea- port to receive the aid of the flotilla whose primary objective was political (rather than humanitarian).
The report said the soldiers had met significant and unexpected resistance in the raid. Two Israeli soldiers were caught by the protesters and then disarmed. “A number of the passengers on the top deck fought with the soldiers using their fists, sticks, metal rods and knives. At least one of the soldiers was stabbed...”. Elsewhere three soldiers were caught and taken inside the ship, where some passengers wished to harm them while others protected them.
The report alleged a cover-up of sorts by the Israelis whom allegedly denied the Mission access to film-footage of the raid. The report spoke of “inconsistent and contradictory” Israeli accounts. “Four passengers have alleged that their credit cards and cellphones, after confiscation by the military, had been used in Israel. One alleged that $1,000 had been spent from his credit card.
“It was reported by the Israeli media that at least four Israeli soldiers have been detained on suspicion of stealing and selling laptops belonging to passengers.”
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